Me, as a non-runner: “Those shoes come in green. I’ll take them!”
Me, as a newbie runner: “I hope some of those pretty shoes over there fit me well.”
Me, as a runner who has now tasted pain: “I hope that the right shoe for me comes in a color that isn’t too visually offensive.”
Luckily, this time they did. 
Same brand and make as last time, so let’s hope I can get a good run (no pun intended) out of these, too.
Met with the orthopedist this morning, who did x-rays and found…nothing. He upped me to a stronger anti-inflammatory, set me up for an MRI, and referred me to a physical therapist with a promise of orthotics for my shoes. First meeting with the PT is tomorrow afternoon; MRI is next Thursday at 6 in the morning. I was a little perturbed that the orthopedist seemed to not get my need to run; he seemed mildly surprised that I would be eager to get back to it, suggesting that I could just do other cardio instead. Dude, substituting low-impact aerobics for my usual running fix isn’t going to make me a happy camper, or even a mostly sane person! Luckily, I hear that my PT might be a runner, so there’s that.
I’m doing this race as my first 50K/ultra in July 2012. I’m so tardy to the party but...
Yours was the first blog I ever stumbled upon more than 5 years ago (wow, more than that… maybe 6). I’ve been following all of that time.
It’s SO inspiring to see your dedication to running and fitness. Way to go! You look fantastic!
Even after I started buying good, fitted, appropriate running shoes, I go first on how they feel and second how they make me run. It’s still an upward battle finding motion control shoes for overpronator me that are halfway cute. When I do, I buy multiple pairs.
P.S. Word to the wise: if you’ve found a shoe that works, look on Zappos to try and find them a little less costly than the local running store. You can check by sku numbers, usually.
My $95 Adidas were gotten for $69 and free shipping. Score!
The saleslady was suggesting that I could wear a men’s shoe, but it was a smidge too wide in the heel when I tried it. I was a little relieved about that, since it was really butt-ugly, and I would hate for that to have been “The Shoe.”
Finding the right shoe is so important. I settled on one model of New Balance for a while (the SL-2 last fits my wide-toed, high-arched, narrow-heeled foot SO WELL!) and I remember thinking from time to time, “Oh, look, the new model of this show isn’t quite as ugly as the last one!”
I need neutral cushioning and wide toes, and now I’m wearing the Nike Air Pegasus, and I”m sorry, but it is not a cute shoe. The pink did not make it pretty. Now it is blue. Whoopee. Just shows that ugly comes in all colors. But then I put on my t-shirt and hoodie and earphones and headband and hat and mittens and sometimes a neoprene face mask, so really, who’s going to see my feet?